Shrek
Many of you know Shrek. He's a bit like Rose: more popular than me wherever we go together. If you read this blog, odds are it's because you met Shrek the same time you met him, and as are interested in his exploits as mine. See a lot of pics by sorting through this blog via the Shrek tab, which I've done here.Shrek is my 2014 Trek Farley Fatbike. It was the 1st model year, so there were no Farleys 1-3 or 7-9 or whatever, you had the Trek Farley. For the last two + years, he's been my one and only bike. We've got 4000+ miles together, in three countries, and in several races, most of which we won.
Price
$2695 (or 5K)One of the reasons we got Shrek was his price. Trek was unsure of the new technology, but was one of the first big brands to bet on it, so they packed a lot of value into the bike. It was basically a high end bike at a mid range price. Of course, the HED wheels cost almost that much again, and have been with me for the life of the bike. Now, there are cheaper, comparable options available, but at the time you almost had to upgrade if you're racing the bike, so then the price becomes almost 5k, and the value much less remarkable.
Still, even at 5k, a race-ready bike that is also tough enough to be your training bike, commuting bike, bikepacking bike, your only bike, it's a good buy still. Maybe a B.
I'm not going to go category by category. Simply because, in all of them, it's an A or an A+.
climbing, descending, looks, handling, cornering, fun, comfort, strength, reliability: A+
It's not super super light. Many fatbikes are lighter. even with the HED wheels, many fatbikes, including this year's Trek Farleys, are lighter by as much as 4 lbs. As I ride him these days, he's at around 28 lbs I think. Maybe 30 with some water and his new frame bag. But, it's worth it. The Beargrease is lighter, sure, and it's a carbon fatbike. My new bike is carbon. I love carbon. Shrek's wheels are carbon. But a whole fattie out of carbon? I don't know. . . One of the magic things about a fatbike is that it can take you anywhere. I trust Shrek to take me farther than any bike ever. The potential or even perceived delicateness of carbon might undermine some of that confidence. So, I'll take the weight penalty. Nevertheless: weight: B-. I have had to upgrade quite a bit to keep it where it is. Speaking of which:
Kit: B
Given the intentions of this bike, it should have been 1x from the get go. I modified it before I ever rode it. Also, I switched the stem to a short one, a 50mm Easton Haven stem, and it's a huge upgrade on the handling. And, at this price, a carbon bar would have been nice. It's such a huge difference. When I moved to Malaysia Emirates Airlines cracked my old bars, and I had to go aluminum for a bit. The bike came with aluminum bars. It was a huge hit on comfort. When I switched back to carbon, it's a huge benefit on pavement and on vibration plagued roads like gravelly county roads.
Highlights:
The Trek Farley is based of the old Gary Fischer Superfly geometry. In other words, despite the new fattie tires, at its heart, it's a fiesty, spirited, classic ST machine: a good old fashioned fast MTB. It rides as such. It rewards fast, competent riding. If you're charging up the road, or slicing through some ST, the Farley is beyond compare. Not just for a fatbike, for any bike. It just plain rides fast. Fast and fun.Steeps are a must experience. It's mostly the fatbike aspect I think, but it's insane: you can go up and down stuff that wasn't possible before. Like, almost straight up. In races, this is often where I pass normal bikers.
This bike descends really really well. Like, uncannily well. The tires provide sure footedness and surprising traction and amazing suspension considering it's a rigid bike. One day, I want to enter an enduro. I think Shrek would stun some people. I recently bagged some top 10 Strava times on a section of trail in RL used for the MT Enduro series, which piqued my curiosity.
Also, rigid bikes! Whoa! Super fun! It had been years for me. Many many bikes in a row, all of them suspended. Before this, it was my old Bridgestone MB-5; that was my last rigid bike. And even he had a Girvin FlexStem for much of his life. Riding Shrek again, the first thing I noticed was the pedaling feedback. It's so stiff, the response to pedaling input and the slightest guidances on the DH sections, the response is instant. It's so fun to ride rigid again.
And, the cool thing about fatties: this bike is ready for adventure. It has the mounts for racks front and rear, and the strength, comfort, and reliability for an adventure ride.
Long story short, I've had a lot of bikes, and Shrek is my favorite. He's the best bike I've ever owned. I don't know about the fattie thing, because my new bike isn't a fatibike; it's a simple 29" mtb, but I do know this: this particular bike, this Shrek, he's fucking magic.
He's the best bike I've ever owned.
He's Shrek.